


Screaming In Color

by Lil_Lioness



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Artist Keith (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Dancer Lance (Voltron), Keith is a sad boi ok, Langst, M/M, Past Relationships Mentioned - Freeform, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Synesthesia, also Keith is kinda mean and outa character, but I love my boy im so sorry, look I tried gimme credit, only kinda Klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-03-01 09:46:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13292238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lil_Lioness/pseuds/Lil_Lioness
Summary: Keith Kogane, a third year studio art major, with what some would call an aloof personality.Lance Marciano, a second (and a half) year dance and body movement education major, with what some call an over the top personality.“Red. My favorite color is red.”





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> okay so, 1st, I tried to give Lance a cuban last name, I may have been way off. if it was offensive at ALL please tell me. 2nd, I did a quick research into synesthesia so if I got any of that wrong again, I WANT TO BE CORRECTED PLEASEEEE any who enjoy

Keith Kogane, a third year studio art major, with what some would call an aloof personality. His adoptive brother on the other hand, described him as a pain in the social ass. Keith kept to himself, he’d only had one boyfriend and that turned fairly sour fairly quick. He was born with synesthesia, the kind where he saw color when he heard voices. Everyone in his life had a color, Shiro was a deep violet, his best friend Pidge was a subtly vibrant green (which annoyed them to all hell). Lotor, his ex was a light lavender. That however, is not the color Keith associates with him, or at least, not the only color. It was Lotor who influenced Keith’s one and only rule. He never asked what someone’s favorite color was. It was hard enough always associating one light lavender with the bastard, but the most basic color, red, was tainted too. Because Keith relied so heavily on color influencing his whole world, colors took deeper meanings. Even in three years into college, he still wouldn’t use lavender or red in his work. (Pidge was proud to be the Apple of his eye) ((get it because all his apples were green))

Lance Marciano, a second (and a half) year dance and body movement education major, with what some call an over the top personality. His best friend in the world Hunk on the other hand, described him as compensating mentally. Lance is the middle kid of a seven kid family. Sure, he loves his siblings to hell and back, but he never really felt… at peace. He was taking care of the younger ones once he could take care of himself, and then he was pushed to get a job if he wanted to go to college (and did he ever). He worked hard through high school to get good grades and keep up hours at a small supermarket in his town. In the summers he worked as a lifeguard, at both the beach and the pool. Everything he did, he did himself. All that work though, left him wanting for something in college. For more friends, more fun, love and adventure. His repressed childish antics came out (and so did he, the first time Hunk walked in on him with a boy). He finally felt like he could be a version himself, but he was so desperate to leave who he was behind, he forgot to be honest with himself. 

They met in a lab science required for gen eds, Keith sat at the back taking quiet notes while Lance sat at the front answering questions and being a part of the class. They were a part of the same study group, friends even (if you asked Lance). They got along just fine. Until, for some reason, they just… didn’t. 

If you asked Keith, it was because fundamentally, they were just different souls. Lance wanted to see how far the world would let him go, he wanted to know his limits. Keith was fine in the small town studio, selling his art and doing freelancing for companies and what not. He liked things to stay. 

If you asked Lance, it was because Keith was afraid to commit to someone, and Lance was afraid to demand it. He wanted more, wanted commitment and a relationship. He wanted Keith to trust him, to know he could trust Keith. But he didn’t want to force it or push the topic after Keith shut it down once. Lance thought he could hold back from it, to keep his friend. 

If you asked any one of their friends, it was because Lance was so painfully in love with Keith, that it scared him. And neither of them knew how to mend it. They circled around each other, letting emotions run high, then pulling back suddenly and harshly. They knew almost everything about each other. 

Lance knew that Keith hates thunderstorms, but loves the rain. He likes spicy foods, but only at night. He has bad dreams around the holidays, because the social pressure of giving everyone the right gift stresses him. He hate to use public bathrooms, because he watched a documentary about unsanitary places when high once and he hasn’t gotten over that fear. He went vegan for six months to prove a point to Shiro, and only went back to eating meat because the vegan spicy foods weren’t spicy enough. He loves all animals except rabbits, even though he can’t (or won’t) explain why. His favorite thing to paint is the galaxy, and he wants to make a glow in the dark mural on a building someday. Lance knows that because of his “ability” as Lance dubbed it, Keith doesn’t like asking people's favorite colors. He knows why, and the whole spiel too. “As an artist, I can’t spend my life letting all the colors belong to different people in my life. I can’t lose all that color Lance.” What Lance doesn’t know, no matter how much he tried to, is why Keith won’t try, why he won’t love. 

Keith knows that Lance misses his family, but doesn’t like to go home very often. He likes warm weather, and sunshine and anything that has to do with the ocean. He wished to be a shark for 5 years with his birthday candles. He knows that Lance learned to dance from his older sister, and begged his parents to let him keep dancing. He knows that Lance worked hard to maintain dance and two or more jobs and his grades. He knows that Lance is smarter than he lets on. He knows that Lance will only watch romcoms on Friday nights, so that when he inevitably cries, he can sleep off the puffy eyes. He knows that even though Lance doesn’t believe in God, he goes to church every Sunday because he promised his Abuela that he would, and that was the last time he saw her before she passed. He knows that Lance is terrified of not being enough for anyone, that he still struggles to believe in himself. But of all this, Keith doesn’t know how long it took for Lance to admit any of this to someone. He doesn’t know how committed to Keith he is. Keith doesn’t know why Lance tries. 

It was the end of the spring semester. Lance and Keith had reached a point where the fighting the cursing the tension, was to much. One off comment and Lance was stone cold and defensive. Keith was explosively angry over something, and no one around them knew why. The whole group of friends was at Pidge’s house, in their big back yard. They were having a cookout to celebrate finals being over. Suddenly, attention went from making sure the grill was working right, to the shouting heard. 

“I don’t give a flying rats ass about you’re stupid movement final Lance! God the whole world does not revolve around you!” Keith’s hands were balled by his side, as he shot up from his seat to shout. If he had to listen to one more comment about the final and how Lance and Allura did and what if this and what if that and oh we were so good but… then he was going to explode. 

Lance on the other hand, went quiet. Keith had never pushed him away like that. Keith had never… but he had. “Right. Sorry. Didn’t mean to waste your time on it. What would you like to talk about then?”

“Nothing. I don’t want to talk to you at all Lance. I don’t even particularly want to be around you, but you keep showing up don’t you? You keep committing.” the last word was seethed out, had this been a cartoon, Keith’s ears would have been steaming. 

“Well sorry I was under the impression that I could hang out with my friends. Guess if I’m not welcome I should go then.” Lance stood now, his eyes down cast, trying not to let the anger in his eyes show. 

“Good. Maybe now we can actually talk instead of just listening to the newest edition of Lance and the Extras in his life.” Keith didn’t know why he was saying this anymore. He just wanted to see Lance hurt, he wanted Lance to be mad or upset or something. For the last few weeks, Lance had just been… there. He talked and filled the silence but he was so distant, any type of emotion was fine at this point. 

“Cool. Well, I’ll be off then.” Lance turned to the others, staring dumbstruck, “I uh… I’ll see you guys around…” 

“Lance…” Hunk hesitantly reached out for him, before thinking better of it at the look in Lance’s eye, and let Lance leave. 

As Lance passed by Keith, he stopped, looked up at the purple blue eyes he adored, and dug his own knife into the boy, “Red. My favorite color is red.”


	2. Chapter 2

Shiro stepped into action, followed by Pidge, who both knew exactly what had just happened, to a better understanding than Hunk could. Leaving Hunk to man the grill, the two lead the dumbfounded Keith inside, where they could talk. 

 

“Keith, Keith what happened buddy. What were you doing?” Shiro sat his adoptive brother down, squatting in front of him like he used to when they were kids.

 

“I just… I needed him to get mad at me for pushing him away. I needed him to yell and be upset and… and defend himself. I needed…” Keith was speaking barely above a whisper, trying to understand what he had just done. 

 

“Look, to be perfectly blunt here emo, Lance is in love with you. He has been, but you told him once, just one time, that you didn’t want a relationship so he backed off in fear of losing you. But you’ve been just as in love, so what’s your excuse.” Pidge was perched on the arm of the chair, looking down at him through those owl eye glasses, expectant and waiting. 

“I … god this is going to sound so stupid.”

 

“Just tell us pal, nothing is going to sound stupid. Not more than telling Lance he wasn’t wanted…”

 

“His voice is red. The most beautifully haunting shade of red I’ve ever… at first it was a constant reminder of Lotor. Of all those promises he broke and the pain I went though. Then red just… became Lance. Red became hope and structure and peace and trust. Red started to creep back into my sketches, into the concepts. But I wasn’t ready, I wasn’t ready to let someone else be red when for so long, Lotor was two of my colors. I wasn’t ready to trust that I was okay, that I was over him. I was so scared I only felt that for Lance because of all the red…”

 

Someone cleared their throat, and at the door was Hunk, looking not in the least shy or embarrassed for intruding, but rather on a mission. 

 

“Look, I get you had a bad break up and life was shit to you. I get that moving on is hard and scary, and doubting your love is even scarier, but Lance? He deserves trust. You say red is trust?” Keith could only nod, while Shiro looked on irritated that Hunk heard that. “Trust is everything to Lance. And he trusted you. He trusted you to never make him feel unwanted and unneeded and out of place. He trusted you to give him somewhere to belong. And Lance doesn’t give do overs and second chances. You know that. Lance trusts that if someone wants him, they’ll never make him doubt it.”

 

Keith looked solemnly past the three others standing there, trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. What he had caused to happen. What Lance had said…

 

Before the others could stop him, Keith was up and bolting from. All he could think was how was he going to fix this, how was he going to get his Lance back. 

 

The idea struck him late at night, when the silence was driving him mad. If this didn’t mean something… then he didn’t deserve Lance. 

 

So Keith gathered his paints and his brushes and got to work. Pulling every canvas, every blank page together, fitting them and adjusting them. Putting it together just right, just… perfect. 

 

And when Lance walked into his dance studio the next day, only to see that the mirrored wall had been covered in artwork, hung and taped and… every piece was red. Scarlet and brick and apple and rose. Not a single page had anything but red. As he got closer, he saw some were rough sketches of him dancing, some detailed portraits of his own face laughing. Every piece, every canvas… him. His face, his body, his color… 

 

“Look. I don’t deserve a second chance. I know that. But… i need you to know that I am unequivocally sorry. I pushed you too far, I pushed knowing you didn’t deserve it. I wanted to see you upset with me, to make you hate me, so that loving you… God Lance. I think I’ve been in love since I heard your voice, and saw the warmth in it. You took red back and made it something I wanted again and I am so so so so sorry. But I can promise you, red is never leaving my work again.”

 

Lance turned to see Keith, standing in the doorway, hair out of place and still wearing what looked suspiciously like pajamas. But it was Keith. Just Keith, there, admitting he was wrong. Admitting he went to far and…

 

“Give me time. I… fuck Keith I’ve never hidden how much I love you. But… I need time.”

 

“I’ve got all the time in the world. Anything for my Red.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o dang did this update or wHAT
> 
> this is probably the end bc im lame and run outa ideas fast oops

**Author's Note:**

> AGAIN IF ANYTHING I WROTE WAS WRONG OR OFFENSIVE I AM OPEN 110% TO CRITICISM as long as you aren't an ass about it  
> also if you liked it, I have more written I just wanted to get this portion out to see if the idea was a good one. or, if you think you could write it better hit me up and take it!! I am but a college student who writes poetry and studies theater. I'd be more than happy to see my ideas fully fleshed out by someone who has more time!!!


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